Coronavirus ROI/NI number 4

[eggandonion]

I don't believe it, would it ever go away!

There is a beautician in my town who was informed about 2 weeks ago that she was a close contact of a positive case. The positive case told her herself.

It took 10 days for the official contact tracing to contact her. In that time she stayed off work herself and arranged 2 tests, the second one came back positive.

As a beautician, she would have had many close contacts in those 10 days.

The contact tracing has been inadequate for a while.

[quote TheKeatingFive]The HSE are no longer going to contact close contacts of a person who tested positive with Covid19. It's up to the person who has Covid19 to contact them themselves.

This is a fucking shambles

Thus article is worth a read

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/21514530/europe-covid-second-wave-update[/quote]
I know - I screamed at the screen when I read The Irish Times this morning. How in Jesus name are we going to get people to comply when this is how the whole operation is being run? I comply with everything and since getting a puppy in September I have been in a mini lockdown myself. But how can the government get buy in if people see this is how the health system is dealing with Covid wave 2? Anyone who works in healthcare and studied any medical course will know from history of the Spanish flu that the second wave was far worse than the first - why did no one plan for this? Frankly, even I am wondering will I bother any more? (I am by nature conservative so of course I will but this, on top of the sport crap is making my blood boil).

Thank God the weather has improved.

My DH is a public sector worker who is on reduced work days to allow for social distancing and unable to work from home on the days he can’t go to work. He has applied twice to help out with contact tracing and heard nothing back. I am sure there are hundreds like him

@minesatea

My DH is a public sector worker who is on reduced work days to allow for social distancing and unable to work from home on the days he can’t go to work. He has applied twice to help out with contact tracing and heard nothing back. I am sure there are hundreds like him

@minesatea - there was a GP on the 5 pm news stating that loads of people have applied to do this including retired GPs and nothing has happened.

I'm thinking too of that lovely young nurse, who returned from Australia to answer Ireland's call and after applying she never heard from the HSE.
It's up to Paul Reid, head of the HSE to sort it. The buck stops with him.

@Lazysundayafternoons That's terrible but I'm not surprised. Fair play to her for contacting people herself.

But the opposition, particularly Marg Lou, is so annoying at the moment. I know it was quieter over the summer but this rapid increase hasn't been like March/April so it's not fair to say they didn't adequately prepare.

A dr on the news there said they had 500 cases a couple of weeks ago and they were managing but once it got to 1000+ it just became unmanageable.

I think I just have a set against Alan Kelly, but it just feels like political point scoring, rather than a real opposition.
Im probably very naive and this is politics as usual though - but still. National crisis,no hyperbole.

I was reading an article in the Independent about a man who caused 16 others to get infected and it says
"Despite having mild symptoms including a runny nose and mild sore throat he socialised with a group of friends." but these aren't official symptoms according to the HSE so how was he supposed to know he had it!

That's the thing isnt it.
This time of year you can't halt your entire life just because of a little sniffle.

I suppose that's what makes it so pernicious.

Otoh that's what makes it so dangerous. A little sniffle, that spreads like mad, that ends up being a serious illness to a certain percentage - I think the fatality rate is still 1 - 2 %. But do we know how many get seriously ill and how many suffer long term?

I'm in a vulnerable category myself and feel kind of cur off from normal society.

Jane, was that the man who was away on holidays and supposed to isolate for two weeks on returning, but didn't? I think that's the issue, more than what symptoms he did or didn't have.

What would be helpful now that we are where we are is less doom and gloom and a moderation of constant hysteria in our media. Perhaps more positive talk about things people can do to keep well rather than what people can't. My parents and older relatives are scared senseless about the whole thing and although they are fit and well I am so worried about their mental wellbeing and that this will cause them to slide. My aunt and uncle live rurally on a farm and can go miles without seeing another soul yet they are terrified of leaving their house. This terror has to stop or perfectly well people are going to rapidly decline and we will have a lot bigger crisis on our hands.

It was 56 other people he caused to get infected

I think I know the answer to this but what do people think? The 5km limit does not apply to food shopping, right? I did not in March so I assuming the same is true now?

Totally agree with you @NotAKaren

As for the 5k limit, I'm disappointed that they didn't deal with the issue of rural areas this time round. We're not in a city but thankfully have plenty within 5k radius. DH parents on the other hand live in a small rural village and there's nothing really within 5k. This was a huge problem last time round as they are real sticklers for the rules and wouldn't dream of breaking the 5k area so they were quite stuck. I had hoped the Government would deal with it better this time round.

You can go beyond the 5km to visit graves... It doesn't state how far you can travel. This is a lifeline for my own parents who visit the cemetery at least twice a week, it's 30km from them but is part of their routine... Mass is online so at least the cemetery visits can give them a little sense of normality

I just wish the politicians- both in government and in opposition would sit down and work together for the sake of the country and its people.
Stop the sniping.
It's a national emergency situation.
The old rules don't apply.
Let Alan Kelly, Mary Lou and whoever heads up the Social Democrats etc be at the NPHET meetings with FF, FG and the Greens representatives.

I agree @LadyEloise, I think all the parties should be involved as they all could offer some insight and also get everyone on board.

I posted in the IT yesterday that it would be more appreciated if they could print positive stories about nature and the universe and small acts of kindness in the coming weeks for those of us trying to muddle through rather than the constant carping by old fogeys like Michael McDowell.

I really think that the MSM does not reflect the people on the ground this time, most people I know realise that we have to limit social interaction to reduce the virus and that people need to stay home. We are getting on with it as best we can - but you would swear we were a nation of looney anti-mask and anti lockdown protesters if you listened to radio, TV or read a national newspaper. I've decided to switch off - I only listen to Spin1038 in the car now, even when the DC are not there with me

Totally agree LadyEloise

It was 56 other people he caused to get infected
This is a different case.

Yes Mother he had been on holiday and should have isolated but I'm just wondering about the symptoms being different to what we're being told.

It’s an enormous problem. Symptoms appear to be everything and nothing. I know someone diagnosed and her only symptom was a sore back.

Getting people to isolate with known symptoms is one thing (and plenty challenging enough), but we’re in a situation where everyone ‘could’ have Covid and wouldn’t know

We are going to have to be so smart to tackle this. Unfortunately we just don’t have that level of leadership or ingenuity at the top.

Is Level 5 more restricting than the level in Manchester that so many are fired up about ?

Is Level 5 more severe than restrictions in NI ?

Yes to both.

As far as I know we’re under the strictest lockdown in Europe.

Thank you @TheKeatingFive

At least Paul Reid has apologised that he failed to inform the Minister for Health of the problems with the Tracing system.

I think Ireland jumped the gun on this. Unless they're going to massively increase bed capacity, they're simply kicking the can down the road into December/January, or, they'll keep Ireland locked down over Christmas and you'll never get out of it!

I think this current lockdown is purely so that we can have Christmas. They know that cases will spike a month or so after they open up again, and so I'm fully expecting another lockdown sometime in January.

@TheKeatingFive I'm sure if the whole country was tested, a huge number of us would be positive, with zero symptoms. This is why I'd like more detail on the death figures quoted daily. If someone dies 'with' or 'from' covid, that makes a difference in my opinion. And it's no disrespect to the families of those who have died, but I do think it's important to have some perspective on the numbers being thrown at us on a daily basis.